Hello, let me introduce myself...

mc_mc · Hello, let me introduce myself...

Hi, I've been lurking round here since the start of the year and so thought I'd formally introduce myself. My name is Michael and I’m 33 years old living in Milton Keynes. I used to own a Mamod stationary engine when I was a child (an 80’s SP1 I think), but I was a bit too young to appreciate it (my dad bought if for me and I think he played with it more than me!) and it eventually got broken / trashed as these things do when you are young, I seem to remember it was built quite well and took quite a beating before it finally died. I remember that I was also bought a steam model of the Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ one Christmas (gas powered I think) but both cylinders leaked continuously and it would hardly move, we got another one from the shop and it did exactly the same so in the end we swapped it for a Scalextric Porsche set (which of course eventually got trashed…).

Over Christmas looking for a present for my brother I stumbled across the name ‘Mamod’ which I’d totally forgotten about but it brought back memories. A quick search on eBay showed things were still active and I was surprised to see that new models were still being produced (British manufacturing being in a bit of decline for the last 20 years). I also found your forums and started to lurk and enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and learnt quite a bit from reading various posts (mostly at random).

I went back to work in January and was called into my bosses office and she told me I’d just been awarded a £600 merit award for all the good work I’d be doing last year. (I’m a computer programmer / software designer by the way. I prefer the programming but they make me design the stuff too

) When I get these awards I like to spend them on something concrete (rather than just p**sing it up the wall if you’ll excuse the expression) so I bought a new printer (Canon Pixma 4300 £60) because my old one had been annoying me for some time and thought about what else I could get. It didn’t take me long to think of a getting a Mamod (or two, or three). I thought about getting one new but the prices are quite high £100+ and I’d read the quality wasn’t as good as the older ones, so I began looking on eBay.

I thought I’d maybe start off with a stationary engine and a mobile engine. I found an excellent looking 1979 traction engine: [url] http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAP...em=160072019133&rd=1&rd=1 [/url] It wasn’t cheap but looked in excellent condition so I bid and won it as the only bidder. I’ve now received it and it is as good as it looks and it runs like a dream (so it’s my new pride and joy). The first time I fired it up the smell of the solid fuel burning brought memories flooding back, there’s nothing quite like the smell and sound of a running model steam engine.

I was also in the market for a stationary engine and liked the look of this: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAP...em=200067602400&rd=1&rd=1 So I jumped in with a bid of £60, but then found it being discussed on the forum, it seemed the chimney wasn’t original and looked like it was missing the regulator valve. The chimney didn’t bother me but I thought I would like to be able to control the speed a bit, so when I was eventually outbid I decided that I wouldn’t pursue it further.

In the mean time I found this engine which was much simpler and way cheaper: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAP...em=180073911282&rd=1&rd=1 Not in as good condition as the traction engine, but seemed like a good place to start. My bid placed in the last few seconds of the auction secured the item. When I received it I was disappointed to find the safety valve was missing it’s spring and retaining washer and so I couldn’t run it immediately (Wallace has advised me that you should always ask two questions when buying an engine: Does the mechanism run freely? and Is the safety valve working properly? I would now agree that this is good advice!). I contacted the seller about the dodgy valve and he agreed that he would refund me £3 as a goodwill gesture towards the price of a new one. So I can’t complain that much…

The actual engine I would describe as ‘okay’ condition, the photos on eBay flatter it a bit. The boiler end drain plug(?) looks like it’s maybe been replaced by a screw and washer so I decided to leave it in place and not unscrew it, but using the valve borrowed from my traction engine I found that the engine does indeed run fine. I did manage to overfill the boiler first time I think and had water filling up the chimney and gushing out everywhere and putting out the fire, but once it lost the excess it settled down and ran fine. Subsequent runs with less water were perfect. So I am happy with my purchase overall.

I am now planning to get myself a twin cylinder engine of some sort (SE3?) it must have a regulator though. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks to everyone on the forums, to the people who offered me good advice and to those who just posted interesting things for everyone to read. Hopefully I will be around here for a long time!

Kind Regards,

Michael

p.s. Sorry for the long post!

tmuir

Welcome to the forums Mc_Mc.

If you want a twin cylinder engine that isn't going to cost you the earth a Mamod SE3 is a good choice, it is deffinately the favourite among a lot of people around here.

If you only want a runner not a looker you can get one in scruffy condition cheaper but of late around 60 pounds seems average for average condition ones but you might get lucky and get one for under 40 pounds.

You have the choice of getting an older meths burner one which will cost a bit more or newer solid fuel one.
If you do go for a meths one make sure it has its burner as they are nearly impossible to get by themselves.

If you want to spend more and prepared to wait a while you cant beat a Bowman twin cylinder but dont expect any change out of 100 pounds and probably a bit more.

The best thing about most engines, stationary and mobile is they are relatively simple and most can be brought back to life with just a few basic tools and a bit of work.

If you see something you like put it up in the ebay section and we can give it the once over for you to let you know if its a good buy or not.

Welcome to the forum and happy steaming.
Tony

Sandman

Hi Michael.
Welcome to the forum. You're post struck a cord with me as I lurked a while before I formally became involved.

I'm sure you've found that this is a friendly place where you can participate on any level. We also like a bit of humour,
and with a membership that has so many diverse interests and loyalties, it is never dull.

Here you'll find all the help and expertise you'll need from some of the biggest names in toy steam.

On that subject, could I recommend Roly Williams book " Live Steam Toys- A users guide" Just give Roly a PM and he'll sort you out PDQ.
This little book has all the information you'll need and will be an excellent reference in the future. (At a great price)

So as I said before welcome to the forum and we look forward to chatting steam with you soon.

Just a little note on the side. We may move your post to the "Meet the members" thread.
This is only to keep things tidy, (Mods Jobs) and your post will appear in full there.
I'll leave it for now though.

Steve_S

Hello Michael and welcome to the forum!
It sound like you've caught the steam bug... there's no known cure I'm afraid!

As you've noticed this is a very friendly place with some very knowledgeable people who are only too happy to advise and generally natter about steam engines and related (or non-related!) issues. Whatever problems you may have with Mamods the guys here will help you sort them out... they've seen it all before!

Steve

Chris

Second the point about getting Roly's booklet. Best £5 you can spend on steam toys.

I've only been reading the forum for about a week, and it is a friendly place to be. So far I only have a TE1a, and can't decide what I want next out of a SR1 or a stationary (don't know the merits of mamod, wilesco and the other makes when it comes to stationary engines). I think the moving toys have more appeal though.

Griffin

Hello mc_mc, and welcome to the forum

That is a very nice TE1a you got there, last of the Malins made ones
And at a good price.

SPOKESMAN

Hi there MC. Welcome.

With regard to a decent stationary an SE3 is an ideal choice, or an early SP5 (199-85 model). Both have regulators, although the SP5 is bi-directional too. Avoid the current SP5.

Glad you're on board.

Mike

Roly Williams

Hi Michael,
welcome to steamers anonimous! I've just replied to you email.

Manxman

And another welcome. It's always good to have new people joining us. May I say a great choice to start your collection. You can't go wrong with a Mamod Traction Engine (or two).

mj

Hello & welcome Michael,
I'm sure you'll find this an entertaining place, whilst recovering from the 'steam bug' (although convalescence may take many years)

James

Hello mate, and welcome to the forums!

I hope you stick around mate

flywheel61

Hi mate, welcome to the forums from OZ. Glad you got an engine to run and a mobile. You'll find the forum a great place with a high community spirit. Like all families we occasionally have a squabble

, but nearly always end up having a laugh over it. You'll find heaps of knowledgeable information here, I certainly did

The SE3 is a great choice, but at the moment, as I said in response to your original enquiry, prices are very firm. The secret is to ask the right questions, which Wallace outlined for you, and look for an engine that is still a goer but doesn't look "a million dollars". Good hunting for your new acquisition and enjoy your straming.

Cheers

Chris

Mamodman123

Welcome to the forums MC

I think what you are looking for is a regular run of the mill SE3. They have been going for silly prices recently, so I suggest waiting for a small price drop

You have made a couple of very nice buys there too, especially the TE1a which is in very good condition by the looks of it

Hope you stick around anyway

mc_mc

I would do some photos of the traction engine, but my camera has just died. It was rattling so I opened it up and some cogs fell out! Ricoh rubbish!

Mamodman123

Wallace

Welcome to the forums MC.

Well, we've Pm'ed before, and looks like you got 2 nice buys there. Well done.

On my Website I put up a buyers guide quite a while ago.
Since then I have learnt a lot more, and have actually been doing a text file to change my website, so will post it here soon.

Anyway, welcome, and stick around, as you will definitely learn a lot here.

Oh, and now you bought 2 engines, there will be plenty more you'll want

yosa

Hi Michael, welcome to the forum.

I started with a TE1A from ebay last year. Great choice mate.